Consumers Reclaiming PPI Money

Watford, Hertfordshire United Kingdom (PressExposure) October 26, 2007 -- Thousands of Brits are likely to reclaim the debt insurance sold to them through 'mis-selling' and 'unfair means.'

According to MoneySavingExpert, a consumer advice firm, 70,000 people have downloaded template letters in the last two months for reclaiming the cost of payment protection insurance (PPI) from their lenders. More consumer awareness may increase the number those who want to reclaim their PPI money.

According to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), there are above 20 million PPI policies in the UK. Many of these policies have been mis-sold by the lenders without providing full information to the borrowers.

PPI policies cover the repayment of secured loans, credit cards, mortgage debts and personal loans. Should people fall ill or lose their jobs, these policies help in maintaining the repayments. However, many such policies have been wrongly sold in bundled offers along with the loans.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert said: "Of the 20 million policies in the UK, I wouldn't be surprised if half had been mis-sold. Some have this insurance without realising it or were told it was compulsory when it wasn't; others are paying for it when it doesn't actually cover them."